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To many Nazlee’s works may seem too subjective and their meanings too obvious but nothing could be more incorrect; in fact Nazlee paints a world of vague understanding through her subjective works and despite their candid expressions the meanings of the pieces are coated by a sense of ambiguity.
   Nazlee is a painter deeply disturbed by the contradictions of society and as she paints her feeling of agitation becomes apparent because the images ooze a kind of inexplicable desolation.
   At present the exhibition is running at the Bengal Art Gallery and will continue till July 6.
   Nazlee may be disoriented by how society is a hostage in hands of hypocrisy, ruthless consumerism and a petty search for transient pleasures but her works are full of colour.
   To be frank, the artist allows colours to subdue her bemused state and as there is a confluence of visually stimulating hues, the attraction of the works reaches out to both the general viewers and to those who are looking for something extra.
   For the latter, the works cover a time frame between the early nineties and 2005 and capture different issues from bandaged bondage to the Re-usable’ series.
   In the first category we get works featuring a bandaged figure sitting or standing as the society passes on with its caustic reality; then, in the second format which comes after the artist took a hiatus from painting, we see more of an acceptance of what we have all around us.
   ‘In the first kind we see a mute opposition, a frustrated feel but in the second we find a sense of resignation,’ commented Insaan, a noted photographer.
   ‘The theme of “Bandaged Bondage’ was helplessness and now I want to say that there is no respite, nothing more to be done and art work becomes merely ornamental,’ says Nazlee.
   Disillusionment plays a vital role in the pieces and the juxtaposition of items is so bizarre that the viewer is sucked into a noir understanding.
   There is beauty of the night with a woman and a moon but just along this ensemble is the figure of a dark man – an indication that all is not perfect.
   These tarnishing touches are also provided in pieces titled Louis Kahn’s Dream (Girl) and Lous Kahn’s Dream (Rupanzel) with shattering effect.
   A girl symbolizing innocence is pursued by a few boys with erect manhood and the scene is set against the tranquil image of the parliament building on the lake.
   Similarly, other pieces show us the glory of the night with a full moon but somewhere on the canvas there is a vile object slithering into a serene feeling polluting it.
   The exhibition is in fact a glimpse of the time we live in where acceptance rather than opposition has become the living motto.

Katha 71, a drama based on the glorious Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971, will premiere at the Experimental Theatre Hall at 7:00pm today. The play is being produced by Dhaka Padatik.
   The play has been scripted and directed by Pritish Kumar Bol and Debashish Ghosh respectively.
   The play, a collage of different events of 1971, is chronologically depicted by the writer. Portrayal of an altercation between a freedom fighter and his son over the issues of the Liberation War is one example.
   For the son, the war is something of the past and has no relevance to present day; life should move.
   However at one point he is convinced by his father that the war criminals must be
   punished.
   Set design is by Manjur Ahmed, lighting by Abdul Halim Pramanik, music by Saidur Rahman Lipon, costume by Nahid Sultana Swati, videography by Said Kajal, props by Kiriti Ranjan Biswas and stage management by Firoz Hossain.
   The cast includes Kazi Chapal, Sifat, Sohel Ahmed, Rabbi, Proshanto, Hasnat, Atik, Redwan, Shyamal Hasan, Anis, Motaleb Hossain, Salauddin Rahat, Rubel, Shuvo, Sumon, Sagar, Naeem, Mithun, Mamun Khan, Sharif Mamun, Reaz, Abubakar Daud Tuhin, Rafik, Bijon Kanti Fhor, Najmun Rashid Shilpi, Kajal, Seeema and Deepika.

A collection of sketches and engravings created by Pablo Picasso in the 1950s and given to his young lover and muse, poetess Genevieve LaPorte, raised over 1.5 million euros (almost 1.9 million dollars) at auction, within pre-sale estimates.
   The highest price, 410,000 euros, was paid for a drawing called ‘Odalisque’, bought by the French state for the Picasso Museum in Paris.
   The proceeds of the sale — 18 sketches, some engravings and a pendant — will go towards the creation of an animal welfare foundation.
   LaPorte, now 78, described the drawings, sold by Artcurial, as ‘love letters’ and expressed mixed feeling about selling them, in an interview with AFP.
   LaPorte first met Picasso in 1944 when she was 17 after classmates tricked her into going to interview the already world famous painter, then 63-years-old.
   Something clicked, and Picasso maintained a chaste relationship with the young woman who was to become his lover only years later, when she would also emerge as a renowned writer in her own right.
   After a whirlwind tour through most of the United States — she met Picasso again in 1951, the year the artist portrayed LaPorte in the drawings up for auction on Monday.
   She remembers vividly the late afternoon in May 1951 when their relationship suddenly became more intimate.
   LaPorte turned down the notoriously volatile artist’s invitation some years later to move in with him, and may have thus escaped the tragic ending that befell most of Picasso’s other love interests.
   LaPorte has nothing but fond memories.

Ek Akasher Tara, a drama serial will be aired on Channel-I at 8:25pm tonight. The drama is scripted and directed by Tazin Ahmed and Azaz Munna respectively.
   Different roles are played by Srabonti, Mahfuz Ahmed, Zitu Ahsan, Shahriar Nazim Joy, Shams Sumon, Banya Mirza, Tisha, Tanisha and others.

G Series has released Shahsti, a feature film produced by Impress Telefilm Ltd. on VCD. The film is directed by Chashi Nazrul Islam.
   The cast includes Riaz, Purnima, Ilias Kanchan, Champa, ATM Shamsuzzaman and others.

9:00pm - 10:00pm, Animal Planet
   Pet Star is a talent show for animals where they travel from all over the country to compete for fame and fortune and make their mark right here on Animal Planet.
   This episode highlights some talented competitors, a pooch who knows how to take a cue, a pig who has a brush with greatness, a bird who's doing it for his country, an obedient dog who thinks he's got the winning touch, a snake who hasn't choked yet, and much more, with celebrity judges like Gena Lee Nolin, Peter Scolari and Lindsay Wagner, all on Pet Star.
   The talented animal who wins the competition will go home with 2500 dollars plus the chance to move on and compete in the big Pet Star finals at the end of the season, which is worth 25,000 dollars.

A team is assembled, Armageddon style, to determine what has thrown the world into such a frenzy. Dr John Keyes makes the startling discovery that the Earth's inner core has stopped rotating, leading to the deterioration of electromagnetic forces.
   Joining Keyes on this dangerous, last-chance mission are the brilliant but arrogant Conrad Zimsky, French arms expert Serge Leveque maverick researcher ‘Brazz’ Brazzleton, geeky computer genius Rat, and two no-nonsense military types, Commander Robert Iverson and Major Rebecca Childs
   However, as the crew digs deeper into the Earth, they discover what they haven't been told about their mission and what's really been causing the worldwide chaos.
   The Core
   HBO
   9:30pm
   Starring
   Aaron Eckhart, Hillary Swank, Delroy Lindo, Stanley Tucci